Many vehicles, such as automobiles, are becoming increasingly sophisticated in terms of on-board sensors, sensor data processing, and overall vehicle capabilities. For example, autonomous vehicles, also sometimes referred to as self-driving cars, may leverage complex sensors and data processing techniques, to route the vehicles to their destinations and avoid roadway hazards. Trials of autonomous vehicles are now being conducted in many cities.
With the increasing computerization of vehicles also comes an increasing push to connect vehicles to other systems. For example, vehicle to vehicle (V2V) communications allows nearby vehicles to share data between one another, such as detected hazards, coordinating platoons of autonomous vehicles that travel together in unison, and the like. Similarly, vehicle to infrastructure (V2I) communications allow vehicles to communicate with existing computer networks, such as the Internet. By connecting vehicles to the existing infrastructure, it becomes possible to manage and monitor large numbers of vehicles at once. For example, a central traffic service could potentially route vehicles in a city, so as to minimize traffic in the city (e.g., by load balancing the vehicle traffic along the different roads).